The Nikkei, formally known as The Nihon Keizai Shinbun (日本経済新聞, Japan Economics Newspaper), is Nikkei, Inc.'s flagship publication and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding three million. The Nikkei 225, a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has been calculated by the newspaper since 1950.[2]

The roots of the Nikkei started with an in-house newspaper department of Mitsui & Company in 1876 when it started publication of Chugai Bukka Shimpo (literally Domestic and Foreign Commodity Price Newspaper), a weekly market-quotation bulletin. The department was spun out as the Shokyosha in 1882. The paper became daily (except Sunday) in 1885 and was renamed Chugai Shogyo Simpo in 1889. It was merged with Nikkan Kogyo and Keizai Jiji and renamed Nihon Sangyo Keizai Shimbun in 1942. The paper changed its name to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in 1946.[3]

Nikkei sells these newspapers around the world, in their original languages and in translation. It also makes many of its Japanese articles available in English through wire services, an English language website, and a licensing agreement with LexisNexis.

In Japan the price of the newspaper Morning edition is 160 yen. The Afternoon edition is 70 yen and subscription is 4,509 yen/month (Morning and afternoon edition).

Nikkei agreed on 23 July 2015 to buy the UK-based FT Group, which includes business daily Financial Times, for the equivalent of $1.32 billion from Pearson PLC.[7][8]

On 30 November 2015, Nikkei completed acquisition of Financial Times from Pearson plc.[9]

Nikkei also owns TV Tokyo and Nikkei CNBC, which provides coverage of the Japanese market during trading hours and rebroadcasts CNBC during off-hours and weekends.